Perched above Rome’s Spanish Steps, Hotel Hassler Roma and its Michelin-starred restaurant, Imàgo, have a commanding presence in the city’s revered culinary scene. At just 27 years old, Andrea Antonini earlier this year became its executive chef. While he has worked alongside greats including 3-Michelin-starred chefs Quique Dacosta and Joan Roca i Fontané, Antonini’s culinary approach is thoroughly his own. Guided by his curiosity, the native Roman’s modern dishes pay respect to traditional fare while holding their own high ground in Italian gastronomy.
HOTELS: What are you doing differently?
Andrea Antonini: We only use local, Italian ingredients. I buy the most delicious cherries from a traditional farmer located in the village of Sora in the countryside outside of Rome. It’s important for a chef to find the right local providers through meticulous research. I found my cherry farmer through another local provider who sells vegetables and fruits in the Campo de Fiori market, one of the most famous food markets in Rome.
H: What is the hotel industry ignoring at its peril?
AA: The industry is ignoring small producers. They are really important to work with in order to maintain a high quality.
H: Where do you find inspiration?
AA: I create different recipes based on what produce is in season in Italy. Colors also inspire me to create recipes and dishes. To create the dish “Fassona Beef, Beetroots and Roses,” I focused on the color red and created a recipe that included only red ingredients.
HOTELS: What are you reading right now? What websites do you check regularly?
AA: I am actually reading “The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine” by Rudolph Chelminski. There aren’t any websites that I check regularly — curiosity just leads me.
H: Describe a typical day.
AA: I generally wake up at 7 a.m. and walk my dog, Kirpan. Four times a week I go to the gym, and I work from 10:30 a.m. until 1 a.m. One hour before Imàgo opens, either the sous chef or I will carefully check our entire food supply in the refrigerator. I always taste all the dishes we prepare.
H: What’s a prediction you’re willing to make about your discipline in the coming year?
AA: I think that chefs and their teams will be given more flexibility in terms of their working hours. Many restaurants are starting to pay closer attention to this. Chefs and kitchen teams generally work 14 to 16 hours a day for seven days a week. Even though I have a deep passion for my work, I think that working [those hours] is too hard. It’s important for all employees to have free time to dedicate to their personal lives. I hope that in the near future, this situation will be better regulated.